Nobody really knows for certain what will happen to LIV Golf. Nobody knows whether it will disappear or not. And nobody knows, if it does end up folding, when that will be. Uncertainty has taken hold of the Saudi league. All the messages coming from inside are reassuring. The bosses never tire of soothing their ranks. Even in LIV’s own original broadcast, not the one from Movistar Golf in Spain which started, struck a blow and then cut to black for practically eleven holes, they have opted for mockery to deny that the business will actually close. It’s not really clear what is more frightening. You know that confirming a coach is the prelude to dismissal
The only thing that doesn’t change in LIV, which experienced its opening day in Mexico City amid blackouts that tarnished the broadcast and the online coverage, is that Jon Rahm (-6) is by far the best player in the league. That is a certainty and there’s no need to say it every other minute. This assertion needs no official confirmation. He proved it again today. He proves it every day. He carded a superb 65 in the opening round at the Club de Golf Chapultepec which, while it doesn’t entirely erase the disappointment of the Masters, at least helps to mitigate it
Jon finished with a bogey at the 18th, a par 3, after a round in which he had seven birdies, one of them with the invaluable and curious assistance of a buggy that happened to pass by and stopped his ball when it looked much worse on his second shot at the 7th. Rahm has shown a new putting habit, at least one we didn’t spot at the Masters: he tucks some of his polo shirt under his right armpit before starting the stroke. It’s widespread among professionals, but at least we hadn’t seen it on him before. In theory, it helps produce a more compact motion
Rahm once again produced great golf and moved into sole second, three shots behind an inspired Victor Perez (-9). He’s the colourful note of the week, the novelty; what doesn’t change is having Jon up there. In third place a legion is tied at -4 consisting of Harold Varner III, Minkyu Kim, Scott Vincent, Ian Poulter, Dustin Johnson, Younghan Song and Thomas Detry
As for the other Spaniards, David Puig (-2) got the tournament off to a very good start. He’s also a constant in LIV. The pity is that he reached -4 during the day, a position that finished in third; however, two bogeys in his final three holes caused him to lose his momentum. Also noteworthy was the debut of Luis Masaveu (-2), already in need of a good result in LIV. Meanwhile, Josele Ballester made PAR and Sergio García continues his own personal drought at +4
The Mexicans Carlos Ortiz (PAR) and Abraham Ancer (+2) did not exactly get off to the best of starts, as if infected by the surprisingly chilly atmosphere that prevailed on the opening day at Chapultepec. The sparse presence of spectators was striking. It will probably improve over the weekend
